Little Lamb (Second Update)

The Next Day, at dawn.

"Ughh~" Lu Ran, sitting cross-legged in meditation on his Small Bed, stretched hard.

He had not slept all night. He had been cultivating, absorbing divine power, trying to make the "mist" within his body thicker, thicker still.

The sensation of being nourished by divine power was simply too wonderful.

Lu Ran got out of bed, pressed his palms together, and respectfully bowed toward the shrine beside the Windowsill.

"Immortal Sheep, good morning!"

The Xianyang Jade Sculpture inside the shrine remained silent, ignoring Someone.

Lu Ran did not mind. He headed straight for the bathroom and happily took a cold shower.

Before leaving, Lu Ran greeted the Gods again. "Immortal Sheep, I'm off to school!"

White Jade Xian Yang: "."

My believer is such a chatterbox.

Rain Alley City was a small county town with a population of just over a hundred thousand. Rain Alley Home Community was 2.5 kilometers from First Middle School, and half an hour on foot was more than enough.

However, Lu Ran took longer today.

He deliberately took a detour, arriving at a Barren Area and lingering for a long time before an abandoned Residential Building.

This was where Lu Ran's Father had passed away.

"Dad, I became a believer of a god."

Lu Ran smiled. "Master Jade Talisman didn't take a liking to me. What a pity—I'd even been thinking of calling you Senior Brother."

A gust of wind suddenly swept past, ruffling Lu Ran's short hair.

It was as if a broad, warm hand had gently rubbed his head.

The smile on Lu Ran's face gradually faded. After a long silence, he finally said softly, "See you around."

With that, he started walking.

The closer he got to campus, the more students he saw.

Though everyone wore blue-and-white School Uniforms, Lu Ran's face drew quite a few strange looks.

Clearly, after yesterday's Worshiping Ceremony, Lu Ran had become a celebrity at school.

Lu Ran crossed the Sports Field at a brisk pace, lowered his head, entered the Teaching Building, and headed straight for Class Four of Year Two.

"Classmate, want your fortune told?"

Lu Ran had just climbed to the third floor when a long-legged girl blocked his path.

"Chang Ying?" Lu Ran recognized the Girl.

She was Class One's PE representative, tall and powerfully built. She wielded a huge axe with such force that it whistled through the air, and she had once taken first place in the year's martial arts subject. She was quite the prominent figure.

Chang Ying had also been the student who kicked off yesterday's Worshiping Ceremony for her class, and even for the entire school.

The god she had invoked was none other than the fourth row's Lord Spirit Sign.

"Lu, Lu Ran!" Chang Ying only then saw who had arrived, and she stammered slightly.

Most students felt somewhat awkward whenever they saw Lu Ran.

Perhaps they could not help thinking of that terrifyingly beautiful demon, Yanzhiren.

Lu Ran smiled. "You only became Lord Spirit Sign's believer yesterday, and you're already on the job today?"

"Hehe." Chang Ying shook the old Divination Tube in her hand. "So, dear Classmate Lu, how about a reading?

Love, studies, luck—I can tell them all. Guaranteed accurate!"

Lu Ran sized up the "valiant young maiden" before him. "You're obviously built to be a meat shield!

After becoming Lord Spirit Sign's believer, aren't you going down the wrong path?"

Honestly, Chang Ying was far too distinctive.

Every time Lu Ran saw her, he felt as if he were seeing the wild, powerful, healthy beauty of women in a primitive matriarchal society.

"Don't I have two hands?" Chang Ying retorted. "I'll hold fortune sticks in one hand and tell fortunes, then swing an axe with the other and chop people!

Before I chop them, I can even calculate how tough their fate is.

If their fate is too hard, I'll know to run away in time. Ahem."

Lu Ran: "."

Chang Ying hurriedly changed the subject. "Yesterday, you faced a demon without even changing expression. You truly are a role model for our generation!

How about this? I'll give you twenty percent off—eighty yuan per reading. Let's be friends."

Upon hearing that, Lu Ran turned and walked away.

Eighty yuan!

Was she kidding? Do you know how many starch sausages that could buy me?

She might as well block the restroom door and rob me outright. At least then I'd hand over the money more willingly.

Chang Ying hurried after him. "Don't go, Lu Ran!

No one had fallen for it all morning—cough, no, I mean, I haven't made a sale yet."

Lu Ran: ???

Chang Ying was rather bold. She stretched out her long arm and hooked it over Lu Ran's shoulders. "Fine, for a lucky opening, I'll give you one reading for free!

Just buy me a pack of Spicy Strips after class!"

"Good Stuff~" Lu Ran truly could not hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. "Spicy Strips work too?"

"Come on, then!" Chang Ying laughed heartily and immediately began shaking the battered Divination Tube.

Strangely enough, the Divination Tube was clearly empty, yet it made a rattling sound.

As energy surged, several illusory spirit sticks gradually appeared inside the tube.

"Oh, right!" Lu Ran suddenly said. "What exactly are you reading for me?"

"Huh?" Chang Ying's hand trembled, and one spirit stick shook free.

Lu Ran nearly laughed in anger. What were you even reading if you had started shaking it already?

"Whoosh~"

The illusory spirit stick floated upward, slowly rotating. The sight was rather magical.

There were no verses or annotations on it, only one simple word: Bad!

Lu Ran: "."

Chang Ying: "."

Nothing was more frightening than the air suddenly falling silent.

Lu Ran irritably pushed Chang Ying away and strode toward Class Four.

Behind him came Chang Ying's weak voice. "Lu Ran, my Spicy Strips..."

"Go play somewhere else!" Lu Ran did not even turn his head as he walked directly into his classroom.

Chang Ying was deeply embarrassed and shook the crude Divination Tube again.

After all, it was her first day on the job swindling people. She truly was not very skilled at the business yet.

"Well, well, the Groom is here?"

Along with a snide voice, another tall figure stepped forward and hooked an arm around Lu Ran's shoulders.

"Hm?" Lu Ran turned to look.

What was with today? Why was everyone putting their arms around my shoulders?

And the face before him immediately ruined Lu Ran's mood—Kou Yingquan!

Lu Ran frowned slightly. Normally, the two did not get along, and they almost never had any physical contact.

For Kou Yingquan to act so strangely, he was clearly up to no good!

He appeared to have an arm around Lu Ran's shoulders, but he was actually choking his neck. "After going home yesterday, did you secretly fool around with that demon behind everyone's back?"

Lu Ran: ???

This kid was young, yet he sure knew how to slap labels on people.

Once you enter the workplace someday, won't you be unbearable?

The noisy classroom instantly quieted, and pairs of eyes looked toward the front podium.

Colluding with the Demon Race was undoubtedly a grave crime.

The classmates had spent nearly two years together, so no one believed Lu Ran would fall into the demonic path. In truth, they also knew Kou Yingquan was simply picking a fight.

But there was no denying that Lu Ran had summoned a demon onto the God-Worshipping Platform.

More importantly, not a single god among the countless gods had been willing to take Lu Ran in. They had left him on the platform to fend for himself.

In the end, it had been Immortal Sheep, the most magnanimous and tolerant of gods, who had appeared.

The implications were deeply thought-provoking.

Kou Yingquan said, "I asked you a question!"

Lu Ran shot back, "You're jealous of Yanzhiren too? You really don't care whether it's hot or cold, do you?"

"I'm not like you!" Kou Yingquan snorted. "I'm devout toward the gods.

I can't summon demons, and I don't want to touch even the slightest trace of them!"

But Lu Ran did not take the bait at all and kept firing. "And you still have the nerve to be jealous? Didn't I introduce you two yesterday?

Look at how scared you were. You dropped right onto the floor. Even ghosts wouldn't look twice at you!"

Trading insults was all about attacking without defending!

"Whoa!" Qian Hao, seated in the first row, could not help praising him. "That Small Mouth is something else~"

"Stop spouting bullshit!" Kou Yingquan immediately became flustered, and the arm choking Lu Ran's neck tightened further.

What had happened yesterday had cost him all his dignity.

It had also completely shattered the tough, mighty image he had built among his classmates.

That was likely one of the reasons Kou Yingquan had come looking for trouble.

"Let go." Lu Ran grabbed Kou Yingquan's arm and said in a low voice.

"Beg me. Aren't you from the Immortal Sheep Sect? Show me your signature move." Kou Yingquan sneered. "Call out a couple of times, and maybe I'll let go."

"You two!" Jiang Ruyi, the class monitor in the fourth row, looked displeased. "Go Back to Your Seat. Morning self-study is starting."

Seeing that the two were still locked in a standoff, Jiang Ruyi rose and walked toward the podium, her expression unusually stern.

"The school prohibits private fights. Do you want to be expelled?"

"Hmph." Kou Yingquan finally loosened his grip, only for Lu Ran to shove him several steps back.

Lu Ran's gaze darkened as he stared at Kou Yingquan's carefree departing back.

Something was off!

Kou Yingquan had behaved very strangely today.

The moment they met, he had gotten physical and gone straight for Lu Ran's throat. His aggression was far from ordinary.

"Go Back to Your Seat," Jiang Ruyi said softly, gently tugging at Lu Ran's sleeve.

"Mm." Lu Ran answered quietly. Kou Yingquan had already returned to his seat, and their gazes met again.

Kou Yingquan looked arrogant as he coldly shot Lu Ran a glance.

"Go back." Jiang Ruyi spoke again and finally led Lu Ran back to the fourth row.

The moment he sat down, the male student behind him patted Lu Ran's back. "You left right after worshiping yesterday, so you don't know what happened afterward.

Kou Yingquan summoned a Third-Rank God—Imprisoned Devil.

Be careful. He's been holding back because he wants to come after you!"

Upon hearing that, Lu Ran suddenly understood.

No wonder this kid was so bold today. So a wild chicken had turned into a phoenix?

Heh.

He might as well have written "superiority complex" across his face.

The Third-Rank God, Imprisoned Devil, truly was formidable!

This god's Ranking was even higher than the Third-Rank God, Master Jade Talisman, whom Jiang Ruyi had worshiped.

In Lu Ran's mind appeared the statue of a stern, dignified man draped in a Great Red Robe.

The foundational divine art of the Imprisoned Devil Faction was called Blood Robe.

When believers used this divine art, they could drape an illusory, oversized robe over themselves.

The robe could both attack and defend, making it highly effective in actual combat!

Naturally, divine arts also had ranks.

It was said that the highest-level Blood Robe would turn a pure crimson and resist every attack in the world.

As Lu Ran pondered in secret, the classroom grew noisy again.

After all, everyone had only worshiped the gods yesterday. How could they possibly keep their mouths shut after arriving at school today?

Yet as they talked, the topic inevitably returned to Lu Ran. His experience had simply been too bizarre.

"...I really don't know what happened. Lu Ran's Results are so good, yet he ended up with Immortal Sheep, the weakest one."

"Other than Immortal Sheep and Yanzhiren, there was no one else for him to choose!"

"Celestial Goat Believers don't exactly have a good reputation. They're practically recognized as soft persimmons now."

"There's no helping it. Immortal Sheep is inherently the weakest among the gods. People call him magnanimous, but really, he's just weak. He doesn't dare clash with other gods or fight over resources.

If Immortal Sheep is like that, naturally his believers can't be tough either."

"Hey? Why do you think the gods didn't want Lu Ran?"

Kou Yingquan suddenly spoke, his voice neither too loud nor too soft. "Didn't I already say it? He doesn't respect the gods, and his heart isn't sincere!

Other than joining the Immortal Sheep Sect and becoming a weak, easily bullied Little Lamb, what else could he do?"

Lu Ran's face darkened, and he made to stand.

That mouth of yours really deserves a beating!

Just because you joined the Third-Rank God Imprisoned Devil's faction, you think you have someone backing you now?

Do you really think everyone is afraid of you?

Jiang Ruyi reacted swiftly. She pressed down on Lu Ran's shoulder, rose to her feet in the same motion, and shouted to stop them:

"Quiet down! Stop talking nonsense! Take out your books and study on your own."

The classroom quieted down a little at once.

Jiang Ruyi sat with a stern face, her gaze sweeping across the entire class before she finally took her seat.

Unfortunately, she was usually far too gentle. When it came to maintaining discipline, her efforts were still somewhat ineffective.

"Don't talk nonsense. Lu Ran's dad was a Jade Talisman Believer, and he died a heroic death.

"No matter what, Lu Ran is the descendant of a martyr. How could he possibly disrespect the gods?"

"Like father, like son; like phoenix, like chick." Kou Yingquan snorted coldly. "A rat's son knows how to dig holes."

The malice on campus was always so naked and raw.

Kou Yingquan had never deliberately lowered his voice, saying disdainfully, "Even now, the authorities haven't released the specifics of what happened that night.

"Since the son could summon an evil god, who knows what was really going on with his father?"

The moment he heard that, Lu Ran's anger flared up with a whoosh!

When Kou Yingquan pinned labels on Lu Ran, Lu Ran could still calmly fire back.

But when Kou Yingquan insulted his Deceased Father—

Lu Ran shot to his feet, grabbed his chair with one hand, and viciously swung it toward the back of the room!

"Huh?"

"Ah!" In an instant, cries of alarm erupted throughout the classroom.

The wooden chair flew over two rows behind him, straight at Kou Yingquan, who was seated by the aisle.

With a crisp crack.

The solid wooden chair smashed squarely into Kou Yingquan and shattered by more than half!

It was clear just how vicious and forceful Lu Ran's blow had been.

"Fuck!"

Kou Yingquan instinctively raised his arms to block, but the chair still struck him solidly, and the pain made him curse aloud.

Kou Yingquan had never imagined it.

Lu Ran, who had summoned an evil god and should have been condemned by thousands; Lambkin, who had joined the weakest god's ranks and looked so weak and easy to bully—

He actually dared to make a move?!

The facts proved that this Lambkin dared!

Not only did Lu Ran dare to swing a wooden chair, he charged over himself as well!

There would be another chapter at eight.